Happy Trails

Well, if I haven't alienated all Stew's conservative friends or family by now, yesterday's post most certainly did the trick. Regardless, while I was ranting in the blog yesterday about the teabaggers, Stew and Claire were making their maiden voyage in Claire's new Burley. The Burley previously belonged to Claire's best pal, Naiya, who was generous enough to pass it along to Claire at a rock-bottom blow-out price point (plus Naiya threw in a tricycle, which Claire is obsessed with despite the fact her feet can't yet reach the pedals). One great thing about our new neighborhood is the existence of numerous walking/biking trails in close proximity to our house. In fact, Stew finally started taking Claire and me for a daily walk late last week, so Claire now knows some new words (stream and pond), plus some new phrases - "Don't poop there, Bogey" and "Dang, look at that hot jogger!" Actually, we rarely see anyone else on the walking trail other than pesky squirrels who are no doubt planning a future aerial assault from the trees. Those rodents have no idea who they're about to mess with...

So, Stew and Claire were gone for about two hours yesterday, so I knew something must have gone awry. As it turns out, Stew decided not to look for any bike path maps for the Chaska area and instead chose to simply set out haphazardly. To make a long story short, Stew and Claire arrived home thanks to the Chaska Fire Department's EMS Crew. Apparently Stew guided his bike and Claire's Burley so far from home that he had no power remaining to find his way home. According to Stew, "I've heard all these stories recently about people calling 9-1-1 because they didn't get enough Chicken McNuggets in their Happy Meal, so I figured my situation was way more dire and I phoned for assistance." The fire department was not amused and charged Stew $200 for the ride home. Luckily, Claire was able to play in a park before Stew got them lost.